Garment



Oct. 29, 1946.

H. s. HEILBRONNER GARMENT Filed Nov. 15, 1945 Patented Oct. 29, 1946 UNITED sT ATES PATENT 1 CE GARMENT Harry S. Heilbronner, Perry, N. Y.

' Application November 1 3 Claims.

This invention relates generally to certain new and useful improvements in the construction and manner of making the neck portions of shouldersupported garments, such as infants shirts, undershirts and other types of outer and undergarments. a v

It has for its primary object to so construct the neck portion of the garment that it will be selfadjusting to the neck and shoulders of the wearer and yet provide a suflicient neck opening in the garment to assure its ready slippage over the wearers head when applying and removing it.

Another object of the invention is to provide a buttonless or fastenerless garment of this character which, while providing a full and ample neck opening for the wearers head, provides a novel self-adjusting shoulder inset construction capable of expanding when the garment is pulled over the head of the wearer and restoring or closing itself neatly about the neck to conform to the wearers neckline.

Other features of the invention reside in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view of an undershirt embodying my invention. Figure 2 is a fragmentary underside perspective view of the shoulder portion of such garment showing the disposition of one of the adjustable insets in relation to the neck-opening of the garment. Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the shoulder-supported portion of the garment. Figure 4 is a detached perspective view of one of the adjustable insets.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to the drawing, l indicates the body of the garment, which, in the example shown in the drawing, is an undershirt having front and back portions shaped at .their upper ends to jointly form a large neck-opening H with comparatively narrow shoulder-engaging elements or straps I2 made integrally with such body and disposed at the opposite ends of such opening. The neck-opening is of a size to freely pass over the head of the wearer and the shoulder straps are displaced outwardly from the vicinity of the wearers neck-line and rest upon the outer portion of the wearers shoulders. The edges of the neck opening may be of any desired shape and with the front portion of such opening out lower than its rear portion, as is customary. It is to be flirther understood that the body of the garment 5, 1945, Serial No. 628,739

may be made in one piece of atnbular knitted fabric or of two separate pieces, but the wales thereof preferably extend lengthwise or vertically to, give. greater elasticity about the body of the wearer. The sleeves of the garment are indicated at l3 and are secured in the usual and well known manner to the customary-arm holes provided in the body of the garment.

At its opposite ends the neck opening I I of the garment is provided with self-adjusting neck portions preferably in the form of shoulder insets or elements I4 which function to normally reduce the size of such opening at the ends or shoulder-engaging portions thereof, by extending over the shoulders and at the same time adapting themselves to the neckline of the wearer, and providing a proper and effective closure for the neck while permitting the necessary stretching of such insets when putting on or removing the garment over the head of the wearer. These insets are preferably substantially rectangular-shaped in plan, as shown in Figure 3, and may be made of an elastic knit or like fabric material of single or double thickness, although I prefer and have shown them of double thickness made by folding the material upon itself in the manner shown in Figure 4. Each of these insets overlies in part and is auxiliary to and separate from the companion shoulder strap l2 of the garment, its outer portion concealing the shoulder strap, while the remaining or inner portion of the inset extends inwardly from such strap and spans or subtends the contiguous end portion of the neck-opening l l in substantially chord-like fashion. The wales of the insets extend horizontally or at right angles to those of the body portion of the garment to give elasticity thereto transversely of the shou1- ders, and those side edges thereof parallel to such wales are preferably secured by elastic seaming before mounting them in position on the garment. These insets are secured in position on the body adjacent the ends of the neck-opening of the garment by seaming them at their marginal front and rear edges, as indicated at [5 to those upper portions of the garment body adjoining the companion imaginary base lines of the shoulder straps l2, and at their outer or side marginal edges, as indicated at IE, to the outer portions of such straps paralleling the sleeve-joining seam, The inner folded edge and spanning portion of each inset is free and unseamed, and forms a corresponding elastic-like end closure for the neck opening, thereby enabling the inset to expand and contract, in a fore and aft direction as well as sidewise relative to the body and shoulder straps of the garment, in response to slipping the garment over the wearers head and to automatically adjust itself in a snug and proper fitting yet non-chafing manner to the neck line of the wearer. As shown in Figure 3, these insets are preferably of greater width at their inner edges and their side edges converge somewhat toward their outer or armhole adjoining edges. If desired, however, these insets may be substantially triangular in shape with the pointed end extending toward the sleeve connection.

While manifestly simple, compact and inexpensive in construction, this improved garment is not only easy to apply and remove over the head of the wearer because of the large neck opening provided for so doing, but the auxiliary, elasticlike shoulder insets provide an effective end closure for such neck opening, resulting in a selfadjusting neck portion for the garment which automatically adapts itself to the neckline of the wearer to afford maximum comfort about the neck without chafing.

I claim as my invention:

1. A garment of the character described, comprising a body having a neck opening of a size to freely slip over the head of the wearer, and means forming shoulder and neck-engaging elements secured at their front, rear and outer side edges 4 to said body with the inner portions thereof extending inwardly from and spanning the companion ends of the neck opening in substantially chordal fashion.

2. A garment of the character described, comprising a body having a neck opening, and auxiliary shoulder-engaging elements of elastic material secured at their marginal front and rear edges to the upper front and rear portions of said body with the inner portions thereof extending across the ends of the neck opening and free to provide a self-adjusting end closure for the neck pe g.

3. A garment of the character described, comprising a body of elastic knit material having a neck opening, and auxiliary shoulder-engaging elements of elastic knit material having the wales thereof extending at substantially right angles to the wales of said body and constituting self-adjusting end closures for the neck opening, said elements being secured along their front and rear edges to the upper front and rear portions of the body in spanning relation to the ends of the neck opening whereby such opening is reduced in size at its ends and the inner edges of said elements automatically shaping themselves to the neck line of the wearer.

' HARRY S. HEILBRONNER. 

